Digital Scholarship Librarian

Description

Haverford College is seeking a Digital Scholarship Librarian.

The Digital Scholarship Librarian serves as a member of the Digital Research and Resources affinity group. Creatively engages in support of faculty and students involved in digital scholarships.

OVERVIEW:

Participates in the development of digital projects and collections by providing a full range of reference, instruction, and collection development/management, and metadata services for all areas of digital scholarship. Provides for the development, long term stewardship and access to the Library’s local digital collections by working collaboratively with faculty, subject specialists, students, and college staff to identify, evaluate and accession materials of significant cultural, academic or historical value. Supports and serves as a resource to colleagues in developing digital projects. Contributes to and supports the digital and online presence of the Library through the investigation, implementation and enhancement of tools that assist with research, instruction and scholarship. Participates in Web-development team. Actively participates in and contributes to the Tri-College Technology Advisory Group. Reports to Coordinator for Digital Scholarship and Services.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

Provides strong reference services and support of faculty and students in the area of digital scholarship. Consults with faculty on digital projects to support their teaching and research.

Develops digital collections through projects focused on digitizing, preserving and providing online access to audio, video, image, data and text-based content related to teaching, faculty scholarship and the cultural heritage of the college.

Determines and implements technical best practices for digitizing, describing, providing access to, and archiving audio, video, image and text-based collections including conversion methods, data dictionaries, rules for description, file format and quality standards and storage methods; performs digitization process and supervises others in this work Coordinates with subject specialist librarians, IT staff, academic departments and college offices to identify and evaluate potential collections: define needs; determine workflows for submission, approval, and administration; develop metadata schemas; delineate copyright and access policies. Supports the integration of metadata across a variety of library and archive applications following standards and the rules for description of digital objects. Develops, implements and tests tools that support resource discovery, resource management and resource utilization.

Provides leadership for the development and integration of technologies to enhance the library’s research and instruction services Evaluates feasibility of proposed projects and initiatives within the local environment; ensures that assessment plans are developed as part of any new initiatives. Engages in assessment of user behavior and needs related to digital scholarship. Provides technical expertise for development of the library web site and contributes to the creation of content and development of tools to improve the usability of the website.

Participates in ongoing digital repository work of the College and the Tri-College.

Advises on library policy issues raised by digital resources such as copyright policy, intellectual freedom issues, fair use, e-privacy concerns or censorship of Internet content. Works closely with other technology support areas in the College to identify and collaborate on complementary efforts to support and assist faculty and students. Participates in development of Tri-College technology projects and working groups. Remains current with advances in information technology’s impact on libraries and digital scholarship. Actively contributes to the profession. Familiarity with academic and scholarly research practices.

Demonstrates initiative in developing projects.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

One of the following: M.S., M.L.S., or M.A. Demonstrated knowledge of emerging trends in digital scholarship. Proficiency in an academic discipline. Demonstrated experience in project management and facilitation of teamwork. Demonstrated proficiency in Web-page development and in the use of Web-authoring tools and experience in managing complex Web sites. Demonstrated experience with digital asset management (DAM) systems (i.e. CONTENTdm, EmbARK Collection Manager, DSpace, and/or alternative), programming and other relevant skills. Working knowledge of most common library metadata formats Demonstrates knowledge of key issues related to information access and management Demonstrated knowledge of current trends in information storage, search and retrieval and emerging technologies. Knowledge of current and emerging technologies in digital and Web-based library services

At least 2 year’s experience in academic or library services. Demonstrated experience in project management. Strong analytical skills; strong understanding of research methods. Experience with library technology, reference, instruction, and outreach services.

Background in, knowledge of, and a record of achievement with digital scholarship and services. Self-directed and collaborative. Goal-oriented.

Preferred:

Experience with system administration and web servers. Experience developing and troubleshooting applications using scripting, programming and database languages. Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Web-related markup languages, features, and protocols including HTML, CSS, PHP etc. Dual advanced degrees –M.A. and M.L.S.; M.L.S. and M.A., or Ph.D.

The Position and the College:

Located on a wooded suburban campus less than ten miles from the center of Philadelphia, Haverford College is a highly selective liberal arts institution of approximately 1,175 students and 120 faculty. The Quaker foundation and traditions of the college encourage a respect for the individual and an openness of exchange that make it attractive to intellectually ambitious and socially conscious students. The library staff of 25 offers a supportive environment for self-motivated, team-oriented, creative, committed librarians seeking intellectual and professional growth through involvement in the work of faculty and students. Local Haverford library and information technology resources are substantially augmented by consortial relations with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Colleges.

This position affords an excellent opportunity to pursue a career at an outstanding college and in a collaborative, consortially-oriented work environment. The college seeks candidates who take an expansive approach to the work of libraries, to the possibilities afforded by information technologies for achieving the college’s goals for student and faculty work, and to the integration of their work with that of other units within the library and among the Tri-College libraries.

TO APPLY:

Please tell us how you meet these qualifications in your letter of application, and send the letter, your résumé, and the names of three references to Laurie Allen, Magill Library, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, Pennsylvania 19041-1392 (lallen@haverford.edu). Review of applications will begin on September 19, 2011, and will continue until the position is filled. Please direct questions to Laurie Allen (lallen@haverford.edu). Please visit the library’s website at http://www.haverford.edu/library.